Icipe Quarterly E-Bulletin, Volume 9, Issue No. 2, 2019
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Volume 10, Issue No. 2, 2019 FROM THE CHAIR, icipe THOUGHT LEADERSHIP COLUMN 2 GOVERNING COUNCIL BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL 3 Re-thinking donor funding strategies Dr Lukas Bertschinger, Dr Segenet Kelemu Chair, icipe Governing Council Director General, icipe Donor: THRiVE-2 Career Development Award Donor: National High Magnetic Field Laboratory user proposal, INSTITUTIONAL NEWS University of Florida, USA Donor: Global Challenges Research Fund seed grant/ UniversityRECENTLY of Aberystwyth, FUNDED UK Donor: 5 Wellcome6 Trust - International Master’s Fellowship Donor: Expanding Excellence in England (E3) Fund/ Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK Donor: Mozilla Foundation Donor: THRiVE Research Enrichment for Community and Public Engagement (RECPE) Award Donor: MasterCard Foundation Donor: Lundin Foundation and Africa Oil Ethiopia. Donor: African Academy of Sciences in partnership with Wellcome and Department for NEWSMAKERS International Development (DFID) Donor: European Commission through Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) Donor: THRiVE Research Enrichment for Community and Public Engagement (RECPE) Award Donor: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Donor: USDA-Agricultural Research Service 9 RCU-RSIF 10 7 8 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS BIOINNOVATE AFRICA RECENTLY PUBLISHED 13 FROM OUR PARTNERS 11 CAPACITY BUILDING AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT In 2020, icipe will celebrate its Golden Jubilee, a major milestone for 15 SCENE 17 icipe an institution that was founded on audacious hope: “Get the very best people and then if you have more money, put buildings and AT icipe SCENE equipment around them.” As we launch the countdown to our 50th FROM IN anniversary, we are conscious of the numerous elements that have enabled icipe to flourish; to become a source of pride for Africa – a regionally and globally acclaimed centre of scientific excellence. We 19 are also cognizant of the fact that our remarkable history mandates STAFF NEWS us towards an even more determined future. icipe BY NUMBERS 12,500 113 20 11 107M number of direct number of peer reviewed number of projects currently number of the Regional potential reach of icipe beneficiaries of the Young journal articles published by being supported by grants Scholarship Innovation media publicity from July to Entrepreneurs in Silk and icipe from January – October through BioInnovate Africa Fund (RSIF) African Host September 2019. Honey (YESH) project 2019. Programme. Universities. (2016-2019). [email protected] www.icipe.org @icipe facebook.com/icipe.insects FROM THE CHAIR, icipe GOVERNING COUNCIL Dr Lukas Bertschinger, Chair, icipe Governing Council Dear Colleagues and Friends, his icipe e-bulletin, which consolidates Overall, we hope this publication will give the Centre’s activities for July – you a sense of the vibrancy that has marked TOctober 2019, opens with the our Centre over the past four months. icipe exciting countdown to our upcoming jubilee continues to be a thriving hub – basic and celebrations. This significant milestone is applied research advance in tandem; and embodied in the slogan ‘Insects for Life’ – a alongside, dissemination and uptake of dual expression of the interlinkage between technologies is progressing steadily. The Human, Animal, Plant and Environment Centre’s funding is on the rise, and our Health, and the unwavering commitment to outputs and outcomes are augmenting our vision and mission. global knowledge while contributing to social economic transformation in Africa. We are aware that icipe’s accomplishments Meanwhile, icipe maintains global visibility over the past 50 years have derived through a variety of recognitions to various icipe continues to be significantly from the incredible support of teams, media coverage and interactions with partners, especially donors. We are equally partners and organisations from all regions of a thriving hub – basic conscious that constant retrospection is the world. and applied research important for effective collaboration between donors, research organisations, and other As we further report in the e-bulletin, advance in tandem; stakeholders, to translate research into BioInnovate Africa, one of the continent’s impact. In her Thought Leadership Column largest regional innovation-driven science and alongside, titled: ‘Re-thinking donor funding strategies’, initiative, has found a true home at the Director General, Dr Segenet Kelemu, icipe. Managed by icipe since 2016, the dissemination provides some points for reflection. Programme is now supporting 20 bioscience and uptake of enterprises across eastern Africa. Meanwhile, Further intuition on impactful donor as the Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) of technologies is partnerships is provided by Dr Marlis the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Lindecke, GIZ Programme Manager of the Fund (RSIF), icipe has had an extremely progressing steadily. German Advisory Service on Agricultural busy programme; from strengthening the Research for Development (BEAF), who participation of women in STEM; mentorship is mandated by the Federal Ministry of of our scholars to be thought leaders, to Economic Cooperation and Development interacting with partners across the world. (BMZ), to manage the financial support and serve as a partner to the Agricultural Research We wish you a happy reading, and hope that Centers. GIZ, on behalf of BEAF and BMZ, you will join us as we take determined steps has been icipe’s worthwhile partner for 20 towards the next chapter in icipe’s history in years. As Dr Lidecke recounts in the From 2020. Our Partners section, the result has been the development of innovative solutions for Dr Lukas Bertschinger, a broad range of challenges, thus helping to Chair, icipe Governing Council improve livelihoods in Africa. icipe e-bulletin 2 Volume 10, Issue No. 2, 2019 THOUGHT LEADERSHIP COLUMN BY THE DIRECTOR GENERAL Re-thinking donor funding strategies Dr Segenet Kelemu Director General, icipe esearch for development is a Research leadership: Increasingly, complicated business that requires various funding opportunities Rdilligence, commitment, compassion from the North assign direction of and passion, supported by continuous research projects to organisations learning, evaluation and evolution. Arguably, in the donor country or region. donors and development partners are In effect, researchers in such institutions united by their commitment to impact: the assume the role of principal investigators demonstrable contribution that research (PIs), with authority over most aspects of the makes to the economy, society, environment, project. This is the case even when research culture and knowledge. While noble, projects are conceived to target global, or this intention is often difficult to achieve. Africa specific issues. Such stipulations may Therefore, we propose constant reflection have several adverse impacts. First, the role and re-strategising of donor funding along of researchers in developing countries – co- the points below. investigators – is depreciated, and in some cases, power asymmetries arise. Second, Agenda setting: The success of inadequate awareness of local contexts by Some donor any R&D project significantly the PIs may obstruct project administration depends on how visionary and implementation. Third, this approach specifications lead and strategic the initiative is, diminishes local ownership of projects among in regard to the aspirations of development country partners. Fourth, to flawed priority target communities and the unequitabilities emerge in resource allocation setting, as well local context. While donor-driven due to lack of enough understanding or research agendas are prevalent, a more empathy of the specific requirements of as unequitable participatory approach that incorporates individual institutions to meet their objectives. visibility and perspectives from research institutions, Fifth, visibility and acknowledgement of the policymakers, national development role of co-investigators and their institutions acknowledgement strategies and end-users among others, is reduced. Therefore, research projects is more desirable and impactful. Such a should be grounded in arrangements that of contributions. strategy should ensure coherence of donor create equitable and respectful partnerships. priorities, visions of research institutions, and emerging developmental challenges. Funding models: The research and At icipe, in recent years we have been able development processes are to link our mandate of insect science with often extremely convoluted, ideals of various donors, and national and moving in an iterative manner continental strategies to implement initiatives from basic science, technology that address increasing need for holistic and development and dissemination, to inclusive development in Africa. Examples commercialisation and scaling up. In reality, it include the Mastercard funded Young could take decades to transform a research Entrepreneurs in Silk and Honey (YESH), and idea to impact. This has been the case a range of activities supported by a variety with icipe’s most effective technologies, of donors around the exciting new area of like the tsetse repellent collar and Push- insects for food and feed andintegrated pest Pull technology. Absence of sustained and vector management among others. funding leads to abandonment of potentially As a result, we are enabling the creation important initiatives. Therefore, we need of meaningful enterprises by marginalised